Since posting my original Quick Reef Tank Photography Guide, I’ve received quite a few questions about how people can improve their reef tank pictures. In many cases, I’ve found that what’s more important than taking better pictures is properly processing those photos.
This video was made with those people in mind. (Click “Read More” to get to the video…) Continue reading »
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WP Pix is one of the FREE WordPress Themes for photography sites discussed in this article.
Save your money for new lenses and more pocket wizards – building a good photography website doesn’t need to be expensive. In the pages that follow, I’ll cover a few basic requirements and several options that you can use to create a feature rich, attractive, and profitable website in the shortest amount of time and for the least amount of money. You don’t need to know HTML or CSS or Javascript or Flash… so jump right in! Before long, you’ll be online and pulling in (at least a little) cash. It’s easier than you might think.
Photography is an expensive hobby… an SLR body, a few nice lenses, a good printer, and the related flashes, software and accessories, and you can spend $10,000 in very short order. Photographers deserve to make back a little cash. Almost every means of making money with your photography either require or would benefit tremendously from a good website that is dedicated to your photography. Every photographer needs an online portfolio. They need a place to list their prices for services they offer. They need a gallery for their fine art, and a place to get their name into the public realm. Your needs will differ depending on your style of photography and your goals, but there are many commonalities as well. Continue reading »
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Shot with "standard equipment" settings (Tripod Mounted : 1/30th sec. f8).
Since writing the original Quick Guide to Reef Tank Photography (which is a good place to start if you’ve never visited this site before), I’ve had a couple of additional opportunities to photograph reef tanks. I’ve been able to confirm a couple of my original suspicions and found problems with others, so I thought it might be worth posting them here. Continue reading »
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Reef Tank Photography : The First Try
So, I packed up my macro lens (a Nikon 105mm micro) and a fast 50mm f1.4, and went to start shooting. But I did encounter some problems, and I think that now, several days later, I’m getting a handle on the root causes. If you’re planning on shooting in a reef tank, perhaps you’ll find these tips useful. And if you have some useful insights, please post a reply!
These were the general thoughts that I had in mind going into the shoot. Most of them will seem pretty basic, but if you don’t have experience with these tanks, they may help.
1. Set the White Balance : This is especially important if you have to shoot .jpg! There is rarely anything in a reef tank that is color-neutral, so your camera will have a hard time setting a reliable white balance automatically. More importantly, reef tanks (and aquariums in general) frequently use lights that are unusually high in color temperature (such as 10, 14, and 20,000 K), and if your camera is set at standard daylight settings, your photos will come out very blue. Continue reading »
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In this video, I show a couple of different techniques for using the gradient tool to create more interesting graphics. Starting with a blank canvas, I create the two simple web-style banners shown here.
To download the full length, HD version of this video (about 20M), click here. If you experience any trouble playing it, I recommend downloading Media Player Classic which is a small, free program with native support for virtually every video format that exists.
In this video, I explain the differences between the Spot Healing brush tool and the Healing Bush tool.
Download the High Definition version of this video here in mp4 format, which can easily be played with Media Player Classic.
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Rather than attempting to type everything out, I’ve created a video tutorial which I hope will be more helpful. For this subject, I strongly recommend watching a high definition copy, which you can download here in mp4 format. If you have any trouble playing the video, I recommend downloading Media Player Classic (a free, lightweight but fully featured player) to play it.
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A Quick Workflow for Landscape Photography
In fact, I made this video as a test to see how the software would work, but it’s complete enough to be worth posting. I’ve learned that in future videos, I’ll want to work closer in.
In any case, this workflow is very simple and quick, but flexible and generally produces bright, vibrant results, which is exactly what we want with stock and landscape photos.
I’ve uploaded this video to youtube so it can be seen by anybody, but I’ve also created a high resolution version of the file, which you can download by clicking here: Quick Landscape Workflow . If you have any trouble playing this video, I recommend watching it with Media Player Classic, a free and excellent video player, which you can download in a matter of seconds.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this video, or if you have any suggestions for future videos. Part two of the “Sharpening” series will mostly likely be a video tutorial as well.
